Sky-cracking Rider

"Get ready to celebrate the 'Rookie' making it into the top fifty-six of the ranking battle!"

With different starting points, perspectives on the outcome vary as well. The First Sovereign combat pilots who were free began to organize a celebration for Chen Fei.

Losing to a Sky Knight of the caliber of "Arsonist" Manasseh Cheh isn't shameful, not even for active pilots, let alone amateur civilian players. After all, most people wouldn't even have such an opportunity. Top experts playing house with kindergarten children—where would you find such a thing? Even if they were utterly bored, they wouldn't play with you.

The last Element Annihilation Bomb launched by the Crystal Jet "Meteor" successfully approached the Cooperative Ship, the distance between them being less than four hundred meters.

This was enough!

The blooming blue light instantly touched the hull, silently engulfing the entire airship. The military version's power was even greater, with an annihilation radius not reaching a kilometer, but still about seven to eight hundred meters.

In the cockpit of the flight simulator, the Sky Knight "Arsonist" Manasseh Cheh remained calm as usual, as if he had done nothing more than an insignificant task, feeling no sense of achievement.

Heh heh!

Such a mere commoner, nothing more. Being able to enter the sixth round, even if defeated by him, is enough to be proud of.

Wait?!

Why hasn't the simulated combat system declared him the winner?

Something seems off!

At that moment, the cockpit of the flight simulator erupted with alarms, as several fierce blue-white beams hit the "Meteor," causing ripples in the Protective Barrier. The Particle Beam split into several fine beams as it disintegrated, deflected away, and the energy synchronization degraded.

Like Chen Fei's Cooperative Ship, the close-range defenses of the Crystal Jet often have more than one method.

Primarily resisting spells and energy attacks with a Magic Shield, physical defense with a Repulsion Shield, and a technology-and-magic-combined all-type Protective Barrier, created layered, close-range defenses, each serving its purpose.

A ball of blue light suddenly burst forth, instantly engulfing the Crystal Jet "Meteor"!

The outcome that everyone collectively recognized reversed nearly in the blink of an eye.

"Arsonist" Manasseh Cheh: ...

WTF???

"Americas Gang": ...

"Asia Gang": ...

"Europa Gang": ...

"Africa Gang": Hakuna Matata (translation: meaningless, pointless)

Only when the judges activated the replay did they see a Tactical Jet dive vertically from the sky, the aircraft's nose pointing directly at the Crystal Jet below, as the other three Tactical Jets fired Particle Beams to attract the Sky Knight's attention, relentlessly launching a "Dragon Slayer Missile" and then fully leveling out—the whole process could be described as close-quarters knife fighting.

The KDK-1 air-breathing hypersonic smart missile, issued to military contractors, with an annihilation radius of 500 meters, enveloped the Crystal Jet with lightning-fast acceleration.

"What just happened?"

"What the hell?"

Unparticipated in the sixth round, the First Sovereign combat pilots, whether winning or losing, were bewildered, each standing stupefied in place.

After a long while, someone finally started to react,

"Seems like, seems like 'Arsonist' capsized?"

"What about 'Rookie'? Didn't he just lose? System glitch?"

"Ah no, wasn't the Combat Spaceship hit directly by the Element Annihilation Bomb?"

"'Rookie' wasn't on the Spaceship! As long as he's alive, it doesn't count as a loss!"

"Ah... can it be played like this?"

The First Sovereign's combat pilots felt their common sense had seemingly been overturned. Of course, as long as a person is alive and can keep fighting, they can't be considered lost, but, but...

Pa!~ Clapping resounded!

One of the "ranking battle" judges, Old David stood up and was the first to applaud.

No wonder he's the brightest student from the "Eagle Nest" training class!

Seeing that others hadn't realized it yet, he said, "The finest Hunter often appears in the form of prey. Humans, not having the claws of a tiger, are thus able to hunt the fiercest beasts."

With himself as bait, waiting for the opportunity to kill, the roles of Hunter and prey unexpectedly reversed.

The applause suddenly grew fervent.

In the sixth round of simulated combat, a participant delivered a spectacular battle scene, deserving of such applause.

"Arsonist" Manasseh Cheh, an opponent of this caliber, seemed destined for victory. Yet, the "Rookie" before the Sky Knight managed a stunning upset, adding a layer of irony.

"Ha, ha! The 'Rookie' actually won! Won! He actually won! Damn impressive! Hahaha!"

Stopping short in the previous round, The First Sovereign Sky Knight "Mad Devil" Sun Ruzheng shouted incredulously, accompanied by a bizarre laugh.

The displeasure from yesterday had long dissipated with a flurry of punches and a good drink. Today, he cheered sincerely for Chen Fei's triumph.

Among the group from The First Sovereign, it wasn't just Sun Ruzheng who lost composure and jumped around, erupting in a storm of wild cries.

"WTF?"

Manasseh Cheh's mind was still in a daze, unable to accept the outcome for the moment.

Previously, he anticipated advancing at least into the top ten, possibly even the top five wasn't out of reach.

Purely in direct confrontation, ten Chen Xiao'er couldn't match Manasseh, yet this true 'Rookie' commoner achieved the impossible, booting him out of the top twenty-eight rankings with a single move.

The cockpit of the flight simulator exited the simulation battle mode, disassembling by itself.

"Hey, Cheh, Cheh, wake up, wake up!"

Another Sky Knight from the Yangzhou continent dashed over to the flight simulator's now-open cockpit, shook Manasseh Cheh and knocked on his tactical helmet.

"Ah! Morgan, uh, I'm fine! Fine! Let me compose myself, compose myself."

Manasseh removed his tactical helmet and loosened the safety gear restraining his body, yet his expression suggested he was far from alright.

The gap between ideals and reality was too large to accept immediately.

At this moment, the hangar's large three-dimensional holographic projection began replaying the final clash between Manasseh Cheh and Chen Fei.

The crystal jet "Meteor" executed a flash strike on the cooperative ship, appearing almost instantly at an extremely close range to the airship, first launching two Element Annihilation Bombs consecutively, then withstanding the airship's focused counterattack while going full force, covering those bombs in a surprise assault.

This tactic indeed caught the airship off guard, unable to intercept the two Element Annihilation Bombs in time, allowing one to strike successfully, obliterating the airship.

Logically, the pilot of the airship, "Rookie" Chen Fei should have been annihilated along with the airship, yet surprisingly, he stealthily boarded one of the unmanned tactical jets, ascended directly above the crystal jet "Meteor," and dive-bombed two Element Annihilation Bombs in retaliation.

Due to inertia, everyone assumed Chen Xiao'er only participated in the simulated battle as the Captain, while neglecting the fact that he was equally a qualified combat pilot with practical hours earned from corporate wars and a real downed count qualifying him as ACE-level.

"So, this is how it happened!"

Staring unblinkingly at the holographic replay, "Arsonist" Manasseh Cheh finally understood the truth, entrapped in a thinking error, assuming the opponent would stay and perish within the airship, but the reality was profoundly unexpected.

Those daring enough to take risks weren't limited to "Arsonist" Manasseh Cheh. When "Rookie" Chen Fei first entered the profession, he faced Metallic Dragons in close-quarter combat, abilities almost ingrained in him deeply, like his unchanging nature.

"'Rookie,' how did you think of it, that final moment was incredible!"

As soon as he stepped out of the flight simulator's cockpit, Chen Fei's shoulders were pounded painfully by a group of locals, all Sky Knights being Ability Users, besides having Battle Qi enhancements from the War Professionals, the physical fitness of Ability Users and Spellcasters wasn't poor either.

With a series of heavy slaps, his complexion turned almost purple from the relentless force these seniors exerted.

"Wait, let me catch my breath."

Chen Fei raised his hands, prompting the combat pilots from The First Sovereign to finally release him.

"Because I noticed that every time the 'Arsonist's' crystal jet executed a 'Flash Strike', its speed would dramatically drop, so I thought perhaps I could seize the opportunity, hence using the airship as bait, to give it a try."

Chen Fei indeed executed a risky move, had the cooperative ship been sacrificed and the opponent not fooled, he would likely confront the top-level Sky Knight from the Yangzhou continent directly with the tactical jet, just as the domestic seniors speculated—in essence, striving to make his defeat appear valiant.

"So the speed drop after the 'Flash Strike'—that's why!"

"Ha, 'Rookie,' you've done a great job, actually identifying the 'Arsonist's' weakness."

"Well done, with this intelligence, wait for your reward!"

Another heavy round of thumping left Chen Xiao'er seeing stars, better than feeling encircled for a thorough beating.

Being a Metal Ability User, possessing protective ability renders defense extraordinary, though the hammering wasn't fatal, it was painful!

The secret technique of a Sky Knight killer trump in other sovereignties often holds significant intelligence value, The First Sovereign ascertained the top-level Sky Knight's trump's weakness from the Yangzhou continent's sovereign; future war situations might reveal this as a valuable unintended gain from participating in this "ranking battle".

The "Flash Strike" skill, specializing in sudden, unexpected attacks, couldn't compensate for the exposed speed-dropping weakness. Once targeted, "Arsonist" Manasseh Cheh might easily be suppressed.

On the battlefield where Sky Knights confront one another, the intelligence confirmed by Chen Fei is genuinely commendable!